At a glance. This strikethrough text generator draws a line through each character with 12 strike styles, and can put it over 12 letter styles such as bold, script and Old English. The result is plain text you can copy and paste. It leaves emoji alone, shows how much longer the marks make your text, and gives you the Markdown, WhatsApp and HTML versions too. Nothing you type is uploaded.
How to use the strikethrough text generator
Your text and the options sit at the top, with a quick result beside them. Below, Strike styles lists every line style, Strike fonts changes the letters under the line, Markup and length gives the other ways to cross text out and checks it fits, Remove strike reads text you paste in, and Checks tests your device.
Type your text
A word, a price or one short line works best. Spaces at the start and end of a line stay clean, and emoji are left alone.
Choose how it is struck
Compare 12 strike styles side by side, or put the line over bold, italic, script or Old English letters in Strike fonts.
Copy the one you want
The Unicode result pastes anywhere that accepts text. Where an app draws strikethrough from a marker, copy the Markdown or WhatsApp version instead.
Check before you post
The length check shows how many characters the marks add. Checks tests your device and gives a plain copy. Remove strike reads text someone else sent you.
The strike styles
- Strikethrough and short strike (U+0336, U+0335). A line through the middle. These are in the Combining Diacritical Marks (opens in a new tab) block that almost every font covers, so they are the safest choice when you cannot test.
- Heavy strike. The classic mark three times, for a thicker line in fonts that draw the stack.
- Slash through and short slash (U+0338, U+0337). A diagonal, the mark maths uses for negation.
- Tilde through (U+0334). A wavy line through the letter. It is not the tilde above a letter, which is an accent.
- Backslash and crossed (X) (U+20E5). These come from Combining Diacritical Marks for Symbols (opens in a new tab), which fewer fonts include, so the tool marks them Test first.
- Underline, double underline, overline and strike and underline. Lines below and above the letters, for places with no underline button. For underline on its own, see the underline text generator (opens in a new tab).
The Widely drawn and Test first badges are our own judgement from the Unicode blocks, not a measurement across devices. Turn on Safe styles only to hide the Test first ones.
Strike fonts: a line over bold, script and Old English
Many people search for a "strike font" and mean strikethrough text in a fancier style. This is not a font you install. The Strike fonts tab swaps your letters for look-alike characters from the Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols (opens in a new tab) block, then draws the line over them, so the result still pastes as text. Italic, script and Old English have no numbers, so digits stay plain and still get the line. For the letter styles on their own, see the bold text generator (opens in a new tab) and the gothic font generator (opens in a new tab).
Unicode, Markdown or HTML: which one to use
Use Unicode strikethrough in a field that takes only plain text, such as a bio or a display name. Use Markdown where the app reads it: two tildes on each side draw the line in Discord and Reddit, and in GitHub through the strikethrough extension (opens in a new tab). WhatsApp uses one tilde on each side. On a web page, use the <del> element (opens in a new tab) so the deletion has meaning, or CSS line-through (opens in a new tab) for looks only. In an app that reads none of these, tildes and tags show as typed. The Markup and length tab writes each version for you, with edge spaces kept outside the markers.
Length and counting
Each mark is a character of its own, so a struck word is about twice as long as a plain one. The tool counts what you see, using the Unicode grapheme rules (opens in a new tab) (available in JavaScript as Intl.Segmenter (opens in a new tab)), and it can count UTF-16 units, which is what the length of a JavaScript string (opens in a new tab) measures. Walking by visible character also means an accented letter, a Hangul syllable or a family emoji is marked once, after the whole character, and never split. The length check compares your result with a limit you pick, and the page says plainly that apps count in different ways.
Why you may see boxes or off-centre lines
The line is drawn by the font of the app that shows your text. A device without a font for the mark shows a box, and a font with unusual letter spacing can put the line beside the letter. Right-to-left and joined scripts such as Arabic, Hebrew and the Indic scripts can draw a stroke in the wrong place. Test in the app you will use before you rely on the look.
What to keep as plain text
- Hashtags, usernames, email addresses and links. Marks make them a different string.
- Anything people search for. A search for the plain word may not find struck text.
- Anything that must be accessible. Screen readers may speak each mark by its Unicode name or skip it.
- Long passages. A line through every letter is hard to read in bulk.
The tool warns you about hashtags, handles, links, joined scripts and long text. It only warns. It never blocks you. For a glitchy look instead, see the zalgo text generator (opens in a new tab).
Privacy
Everything is worked out in your browser. Your text is not uploaded or saved. Your options, favourite styles and recently copied styles are kept in your browser storage, and a share link contains your text only when you press Share link.
Frequently asked questions
What is strikethrough text, or a strike font?
It is text with a line through each character, like S̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶. People also search for it as a strike font or strike through font, but it is not a font file. A zero-width mark, such as U+0336, is written after every character and the device draws it over the letter. Because the line is part of the text, it survives copy and paste. This tool has 12 strike styles and 12 letter styles to put the line over.
How do I make strikethrough text I can paste into Instagram, a bio or a name?
Type your text, copy a result from Strike styles, and paste it. Plain text fields have no strikethrough button and no Markdown, so the Unicode result is the one that works there. The line is drawn by the font of the app that shows it, so look at the result after you paste, and use the Checks tab to test your own device. We have not tested every app.
What is the difference between Unicode strikethrough, Markdown and HTML?
Unicode strikethrough puts a mark after each character, so it works in any plain text field. Markdown uses ~~two tildes~~ on each side and only draws a line where the app reads Markdown, such as Discord, Reddit or GitHub. HTML uses <del> or CSS line-through and only works on a web page or in a rich-text editor. In an app that reads none of them, tildes and tags show as typed. Markup and length gives you the Markdown, WhatsApp, HTML and CSS versions of your text.
Why does a space or an emoji not get a line?
Spaces at the start and end of a line are left clean so the strike begins and ends on a visible character. Spaces between words get the line by default, and Words only turns that off. Emoji, flags and keycaps are left unmarked by default, because a mark after an emoji usually draws as a box and one inserted inside an emoji can break it. You can change both in the options.
Why is my struck text about twice as long?
Each character is followed by a mark, and the mark is a character of its own. Five letters become ten, and a heavy strike with three marks makes it four times as long. The length check counts what you see or UTF-16 units, and compares the result with a limit you choose. Apps count in different ways, and limits change, so confirm in the app.
What are strike fonts, and do they work with numbers?
Strike fonts put the same line over bold, italic, script, Old English, outline, typewriter or wide letters. These are look-alike characters from the Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols block, not installed fonts. Some of those styles have no numbers, so digits stay plain and still get the line. Letters with accents and other alphabets have no look-alike, so they stay as typed, and the result tells you which.
Why do I see boxes, or a line beside the letter instead of through it?
The line is drawn by the font, so a device with no font for the mark shows a box, and a font with unusual letter spacing can place the line off-centre. The classic strikethrough and short strike are in the most widely covered block. The backslash and crossed styles use a less common block, so test them first. The Checks tab shows test glyphs for your device. That tests only your device, not the readers'.
Can I strike a hashtag, username or link?
Usually not. A hashtag or handle with marks in it is a different string from the plain one, so it will not join the same feed or tag the same person, and a link may stop working. The tool warns you when your text has a hashtag, an @ or a link. It only warns.
Can I remove strikethrough from text?
Yes. Open Remove strike, paste text from any strikethrough, underline or overline generator, and copy the plain version. It lists each kind of mark it found with its code point. It does not turn back bold or script look-alike letters.
Is strikethrough text accessible?
Not reliably. Screen readers may speak each mark by its Unicode name or skip it, and the result differs between readers. Keep it for a price, a joke or a short decorative line, and put the plain words nearby. On a web page you control, use <del> so the deletion is announced. The Checks tab gives a plain copy to paste.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser. Your options, favourite styles and recently copied styles are kept in your browser storage, not your text. A share link includes your text only when you press Share link.
Sources
- Unicode chart, Combining Diacritical Marks (U+0300) (opens in a new tab)
- Unicode chart, Combining Diacritical Marks for Symbols (U+20D0) (opens in a new tab)
- Unicode chart, Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols (U+1D400) (opens in a new tab)
- Unicode Standard Annex #29, Text Segmentation: grapheme clusters (opens in a new tab)
- MDN, Intl.Segmenter (opens in a new tab)
- MDN, String length (UTF-16 code units) (opens in a new tab)
- MDN, the <del> element (opens in a new tab)
- MDN, text-decoration-line (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Flavored Markdown spec, strikethrough extension (opens in a new tab)
The Widely drawn and Test first badges are our own judgement from the Unicode blocks, not a measurement across devices. We have not tested every app, and apps change what they accept.
Last updated: